19,000 Species Now in Danger of Extinction

The usual suspects -- deforestation, poaching, climate change, pollution, and invasive species -- are largely to blame. But scientists have also done a remarkable job of discovering new species over the last decade or so -- and many of those are immediately whisked onto the watch list. The Economist elaborates on the study of those 19,000 species are in peril, noting that "Of those [species] evaluated, nearly one-third are considered "threatened" (critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable). Between 2000 and 2011 the number of species assessed by the IUCN grew by over 60%." The newspaper notes that "Amphibians ... for example, were not "completely evaluated" (with more than 90% of species assessed) until 2004." And again, that partly explains why the case looks so bad for amphibians -- which show the most remarkable decline since the last report. But the main reason t...